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Be Quiet and YodelI am very happy to announce two new articles on the main Dixie Chicks MSN page about the making of the Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing documentary and its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival: Part I: Hatching The Chicks - The Birth of Shut Up and Sing Part II: The Mother of All Chick Flicks - Reporting from Toronto By the way, the film won second runner-up for the People's Choice Award. (Because it received a gala presentation, the film was uneligible for any other prizes.) Leave your comments on the articles below. The Chicks on EllenThe Chicks will perform two songs on the Ellen DeGeneres Show today and sit for a brief interview. Look out for Natalie trying to get Ellen in trouble. Notice in the photo above the Ellen crew member wearing the "Free Natalie" shirt. Nice 'stache! The Chicks are currently about to go through soundcheck for the VH1 Storytellers taping tonight. More details soon! Midnight in the Garden + MSN Video Interview of the ChicksAt long last, you can read the new "Midnight in the Garden" article by clicking here. The photo above of the Chicks with "Emily's #1 Fan" and below with Harvey Weinstein accompany the article. Leave your comments below! But I'm Still WaitingSome of you have been patiently, and then impatiently, waiting for photos and updates. Unfortunately, I'm required to get approvals to post and the Chicks are a bit preoccupied at the moment. Sorry for the delay! The Big NightI just arrived in Toronto. (I can't think of a more unsettling way to commemorate the five-year anniversary of September 11 than to fly across the country while reading detailed reports about what took place on United 93.) Tonight is the big world premiere of "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing," along with the Toronto Film Festival's gala red carpet extravaganza! I feel very privileged to have one of the hottest tickets in town, so I will do my best to report back all the details. Definitely check back at http://dixiechicks.msn.com and here for updates and pictures. In the meantime, there are already some reviews of the film in Rolling Stone and Variety. Both critics give the doc a stellar review, which only makes me act even more giddy with anticipation like a little girl amped up on a Jolt and amphetamine cocktail who can't wait for her new pony on Christmas morning. Speaking of ponies, if only I could convince Martie, Emily, and Natalie to arrive at the red carpet on a cart with a donkey (or even better, a man ass) ... Crunching The NumbersWhen your inebriated Uncle Bocephus starts claiming that the Dixie Chicks' new album has tanked and their shows were empty, you can calmly respond by reciting the following figures. After only fifteen weeks, the Dixie Chicks have sold, worldwide, about 2.5 million copies of their new album. Domestically, only two 2006 albums have done better than "Taking The Long Way" after 15 weeks on the shelves:
As for the tour, your uncle likely read -- or had somebody read to him -- numerous articles about how the Accidents & Accusations Tour was in serious trouble. However, he may not have read any recent reports analyzing the actual numbers, which suggest that the Dixie Chicks' tour will be one of 2006's biggest success stories. One article points out: "Truth is, the Dixie Chicks` Accidents & Accusations tour has grossed nearly $10 million from the 17 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore so far this year. That`s an average nightly gross of $583,981 and an average attendance of more than 9,000 per night. The Dixie Chicks say they don`t consider themselves country, but most country
acts would love to put up those kinds of numbers. Beyond a half-dozen or so
elite country artists, very few acts in
the genre can draw better than 9,000 per night on average." To be fair, there's no denying that the Chicks aren't doing as well as they did back in the earlier part of this decade. But that is the trend for nearly every artist with hit albums/tours around Y2K that didn't get Dixie Chicked. So when your Uncle Bocephus claims that the Chicks haven't sold squat, gently suggest to him that he is lying through his tooth. And Summer Faded Into FallSummer's over. As most of you know, the Dixie Chicks are currently on a short hiatus and I've started teaching again, which explains why there aren't as many regular updates. As much as I'd be open to following the Chicks 24/7, I have an obligation to my students in San Diego, my wife in Orange County, and my desire to not have the Chicks seek a permanent restraining order against me. But for those who feared I'd be fading into the blogosphere sunset, the three of you should stop worrying. I'll still be at all the big Chicks events and many of their fall shows -- including the Toronto Film Festival, the VH1 Storytellers taping, their fall recording sessions (true!), and their other upcoming television appearances. There are also lots of forthcoming articles spaced out over the next month, so you'll have plenty to look forward to, including the results of my Yahtzee game with Natalie and -- believe it or not -- my jam session with the band. Speaking of TV appearances, the Dixie Chicks will be guests on the Ellen Show on September 20 and they're tentatively scheduled to do a taping of PBS's Austin City Limits in December. This all brings me closer to living out the anxiety dream I had last week where I was invited to dance with Ellen DeGeneres but couldn't properly perform the Roger Rabbit because I had a bad case of Athlete's Foot. (Not a real photo) In other good news, I'm happy to confirm that Pete Yorn will be the opening act in Australia! One final note: the Chicks did, indeed, break the record on VH1's Top 20 Countdown this last weekend. "Not Ready to Make Nice" has now spent eleven consecutive weeks at #1 on their charts, which no other artist has ever done. Take that, Color Me Badd! |
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